Entering the World of Sales

I began my journey in sales interning for the Temple University Newspaper as Ad Advertising Sales Representative this past September. I was nervous, but excited. With no knowledgeable background in sales, I decided to take this leap into the unknown world. My decision was based on wanting to change my direction in the Ad world. I am currently on the media planning track and had only dabbled in sales very little. With the help of my amazing Ad manager and supportive advisor for the University’s paper, I was given a lot of interesting information to go on and contact leads. While I thought this would be a easy but challenging job, I was unaware of the hardships that would come. I am now into my third month with the newspaper and I can say I’ve had my fair share of no’s from prospective clients. But with every no I’ve gotten, it has made me ten times more aggressive in figuring out what I can do differently next time. My manager and team are very informative and are constantly encouraging each other. We have weekly meetings discussing issues we’ve faced and how we can resolve them. This is no easy job, and with time and patience I have definitely learned what it takes to succeed in this internship.

There are countless emails, phone calls and visits to clients’ businesses that I have done in the past three months. Some, seeing the willingness and eagerness I have shown, have allowed meetings to be set up. I put together packages and talk through various types of advertisements they would be interested in. My mantra for this job is no matter how many “no’s”, “I’m not sure right now” or “I don’t think we need it”, they are just a gateway for me to figure out how we at the newspaper could benefit them in placing an ad in the paper. Nearing the end of this semester, and my time at the the Temple Newspaper, I will continue to work hard and I am determined to gain as many leads and clients as well as promoting the paper to prospective consumers.